Everyone's Life Is Weird
Ava encourages young technologists to apply for the Interact fellowship, sharing her unconventional journey from college dropout to writer, emphasizing personal fulfillment and the unpredictability of success outside societal norms.
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Ava reflects on the unconventional paths many people take in life, contrasting her experiences with those of a former crush who followed a traditional trajectory. She discusses her role as the Fellowship Director of Admissions for Interact, an organization for young technologists, and encourages readers aged 18-23 to apply. Ava shares her personal journey, including dropping out of college and pursuing a career as an Internet writer, which she found daunting due to the lack of a clear path. She emphasizes that societal norms often dictate career choices, but many individuals, including herself, find fulfillment outside these expectations. Ava highlights the importance of creativity and hard work, suggesting that success can come from various paths. She reflects on her upbringing, noting the pressure to achieve academically and the fear of failure instilled in her by her parents, who immigrated from China. Despite their hopes for stability, they support her unconventional career choice, recognizing that life is inherently unpredictable. Ava concludes that everyone’s life is "weird" in its own way, and there is no single definition of success.
- Ava encourages young technologists to apply for the Interact fellowship.
- She shares her journey of leaving a conventional career path for creative writing.
- The author reflects on societal pressures regarding success and career choices.
- Ava emphasizes the unpredictability of life and the value of pursuing personal fulfillment.
- She acknowledges her parents' support despite their traditional expectations.
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4 commentsIn the article this sounds like a liberating revelation, but for most people this is just a small ridge they struggle to stay and not fall down on either side. The less privileged, the smaller the ridge. The least privileged manage to fall down all sides.
But...
There also is no perfect life. Nothing on earth ever perfectly satisfies. Your dream job won't pay enough for all your other dreams. You may find a wonderful person to share your life with, but they won't be perfect. Some of their dreams will clash with some of your dreams.
When that happens, don't throw out something really good to try to reach something perfect. It's only perfect in your dreams. In reality, it may not even be better. "Take time in your pursuit of happiness to just be happy."
So, yes, you can ditch a path that doesn't fit you. But no path fits perfectly. Don't destroy something good in order to try to reach an unattainable amount of perfection.
Where's the line between those two kinds of advice? Aye, there's the rub...
I wish I knew this at the end of mandatory education.
It's pretty clear there is a large chunk of the population that just doesn't operate well under traditional education and career paths.
For us, it's just a slow, often painful exercise in realising following rules laid out by some institution just doesn't work for us - and most critically: that that is OK! that it doesn't mean you are not capable, or not smart, at most it means you might not be good at jumping through hoops when you have no intrinsic motivation to do so, and at least it shows that education is not designed to work for everyone, it's one size fits all.
... but almost no one tells you this, and so we are destined to waste time and, in some countries huge amounts of money, and psychological pain learning this lesson.
The irony is I now work in ed-tech. But I have some solace in knowing the technology I work on is moving traditional education towards a more individualised experience that might work better for someone like me.